A mood shows how the speaker feels about the action
The subjunctive is not used very often in English. It is much more widely used in Spanish, and it is very important that you learn how to use it correctly.
Here are some examples in English:
The law requires that you be 21.
Be that as it may.
If I were you....
All of the tenses you have learned have been in the indicative mood. The indicative mood is used to show certainty, state facts, and express objectivity.
Vas a España.
You are going to Spain.
This sentence is indicative because it expresses a definite action.
Espero que tu vayas a España.
I hope that you go to Spain.
This sentence is subjunctive because the phrase "espero que" indicates uncertainty. You may or may not go.
In fact, there are many phrases like this that trigger the use of the subjunctive:
Es bueno
It's good
Es malo
It's bad
Es mejor
It's better
Es peor
It's worse
Es horrible
It's horrible
Es horrendo
It's horrendous
Es estupendo
It's stupendous
Es maravilloso
It's marvelous
Es posible
It's possible
Es imposible
It's impossible
Es probable
It's probable
Es improbable
It's improbable
Es increíble
It's incredible
Es necesario
It's necessary
Es preciso
It's necessary
Es urgente
It's urgent
Es importante
It's important
Es interesante
It's interesting
Es notable
It's notable
Es raro
It'sunusual/strange
Es extraño
It's strange
Es estúpido
It's stupid
Es ridículo
It's ridiculous
Es curioso
It's curious
Es dudoso
It's doubtful
Es difícil
It's unlikely
Es fácil
It's likely
No es seguro
It's uncertain
No es cierto
It's uncertain
No es verdad
It's untrue
Please note that these expressions use "que" before the sentence continues. For example, Es bueno que...
And this isn't even all of them!
Don't Worry! It looks like a lot, but they are phrases that you will use a lot without even realizing it! Plus, its a whole lot easier to learn the phrases that don't use the subjunctive: creer que ... to believe that ... no dudar que ...
to not doubt that ... es cierto que ...
it is certain that ... es claro que ...
it is clear that ... es evidente que ...
it is certain that ... es obvio que ...
it is obvious that ... estar seguro que ...
to be sure that ... es verdad que ...
it is true that ... no cabe duda que ...
there's no doubt that ... no es dudoso que ...
it is not doubtful that ... no hay duda que ...
there is no doubt that ...
Present Conjugations :) (The easier part)
Steps: 1. Start with the present "yo" form ex. hablar - hablo, tener - tengo
2. Drop the "o" ex. hablo - habl, tener - teng
3. Add the "opposite ending" Here's what I mean: -ar verbs
-e
-emos
-es
-éis
-e
-en
-er and -ir verbs
-a
-amos
-as
-áis
-a
-an
So, in the "yo" form, our examples become hable and tenga.
Not so hard, is it? :)
Remember: there is no stem change in nosotros and vosotros. Pensar - to think yo pienso
piense
pensemos
pienses
penséis
piense
piensen
Ok. Here's where it gets tricky. If you think you don't understand this last part, here is a link to some practice before you move on. If you feel that you could easily pass an open-note quiz, you can move on. http://www.studyspanish.com/practice/subj1.htm
The Weird Stem-Changers: For -ir stem-changing verbs, the formula applies except that the stem change in the nosotros and vosotros forms follows these patterns: o:ue verbs change o to u; e:ie verbs change e to i; e:i verbs change e to i. Ok, I promise that it's easier than it sounds.
dormir (yo duermo) duermo - o = duerm duerm + a = duerma duerm + as = duermas duerm + a = duerma durm + amos = durmamos durm + áis = durmáis duerm + an = duerman
sentir (yo siento) siento - o = sient sient + a = sienta sient + as = sientas sient + a = sienta sint + amos = sintamos sint + áis = sintáis sient + an = sientan
pedir (yo pido) pido - o = pid pid + a = pida pid + as = pidas pid + a = pida pid + amos = pidamos pid + áis = pidáis pid + an = pidan
(BTW if you ever need help understanding any Spanish grammatical concept, studyspanish.com has a bunch of great resources.) :D
=
Phonetic Spelling Changes (Verbs that change orthographically)
As you already know, Spanish is a phonetically-spelled language. This means that things are spelled the way that they sound. This is really helpful at times, and annoying at others. Remember those pesky -car -gar -zar verbs? And all those verbs that add a y in the middle when there is two vowels? Those are orthographic changes, or a change in spelling to maintain consistency between the spoken form and the written form. Luckily, you will find that many of these verbs will look or sound wrong if you don't change them. This will come after lots of practice. :)
These changes happen in all forms, not just the yo form. :) Apply the orthographic change and then add on the appropriate ending.
-car, -gar, and -zar
-car: the c becomes a qu
ex. buscar - busque -gar: the g becomes a gu
ex. pagar - pague -zar: the z becomes a c
ex. empezar - empece
Remember: car gar zar goes to que gue ce.
seemingly random y
Verbs that end in uir, like huir replace add a y before attaching the ending
ex. huir - huya
the g verbs
-ger or - gir verbs replace the g with a j (What?)
ex. escoger - escoja
elegir - elija -guir changes the gu to just a g
ex. seguir - siga
I am so sorry to have to do this to you. There are a few verbs that just really hate people who want to learn Spanish. They just want to be really irregular. The bad part is, you have to just memorize them. The good part is, I've provided a link to some flashcards on quizlet to help you practice! http://quizlet.com/4385145/irregular-subjunctive-flash-cards/
Dar
dé
demos
des
déis
dé
den
Estar
esté
estemos
estés
estéis
esté
estén
Haber* (auxiliary)
haya
hayamos
hayas
hayáis
haya
hayan
ir
vaya
vayamos
vayas
vayáis
vaya
vayan
saber
sepa
sepamos
sepas
sepáis
sepa
sepan
ser
sea
seamos
seas
seáis
sea
sean
Last Few Tips.
Remember, the subjunctive is used to indicate doubt, ignorance, desire, actions not yet completed, and is used with impersonal expressions.
The subjunctive is a mood.
The subjunctive is not used very often in English. It is much more widely used in Spanish, and it is very important that you learn how to use it correctly.
Here are some examples in English:
All of the tenses you have learned have been in the indicative mood. The indicative mood is used to show certainty, state facts, and express objectivity.
Vas a España.
You are going to Spain.This sentence is indicative because it expresses a definite action.
Espero que tu vayas a España.
I hope that you go to Spain.This sentence is subjunctive because the phrase "espero que" indicates uncertainty. You may or may not go.
In fact, there are many phrases like this that trigger the use of the subjunctive:
Chart Credits: http://www.studyspanish.com/lessons/subj1.htm and
http://users.ipfw.edu/jehle/courses/subjnoun.htm
And this isn't even all of them!
Don't Worry! It looks like a lot, but they are phrases that you will use a lot without even realizing it! Plus, its a whole lot easier to learn the phrases that don't use the subjunctive:
creer que ...
to believe that ...
no dudar que ...
to not doubt that ...
es cierto que ...
it is certain that ...
es claro que ...
it is clear that ...
es evidente que ...
it is certain that ...
es obvio que ...
it is obvious that ...
estar seguro que ...
to be sure that ...
es verdad que ...
it is true that ...
no cabe duda que ...
there's no doubt that ...
no es dudoso que ...
it is not doubtful that ...
no hay duda que ...
there is no doubt that ...
Present Conjugations :) (The easier part)
Steps:
1. Start with the present "yo" form
ex. hablar - hablo, tener - tengo
2. Drop the "o"
ex. hablo - habl, tener - teng
3. Add the "opposite ending"
Here's what I mean:
-ar verbs
So, in the "yo" form, our examples become hable and tenga.
Not so hard, is it? :)
Remember: there is no stem change in nosotros and vosotros.
Pensar - to think
yo pienso
http://www.studyspanish.com/practice/subj1.htm
The Weird Stem-Changers:
For -ir stem-changing verbs, the formula applies except that the stem change in the nosotros and vosotros forms follows these patterns: o:ue verbs change o to u; e:ie verbs change e to i; e:i verbs change e to i.
Ok, I promise that it's easier than it sounds.
dormir (yo duermo)
duermo - o = duerm
duerm + a = duerma
duerm + as = duermas
duerm + a = duerma
durm + amos = durmamos
durm + áis = durmáis
duerm + an = duerman
sentir (yo siento)
siento - o = sient
sient + a = sienta
sient + as = sientas
sient + a = sienta
sint + amos = sintamos
sint + áis = sintáis
sient + an = sientan
pedir (yo pido)
pido - o = pid
pid + a = pida
pid + as = pidas
pid + a = pida
pid + amos = pidamos
pid + áis = pidáis
pid + an = pidan
Here is a practice quiz that covers all of the conjugations:
http://www.studyspanish.com/practice/subj2.htm
(BTW if you ever need help understanding any Spanish grammatical concept, studyspanish.com has a bunch of great resources.) :D
=
Phonetic Spelling Changes (Verbs that change orthographically)
As you already know, Spanish is a phonetically-spelled language. This means that things are spelled the way that they sound. This is really helpful at times, and annoying at others. Remember those pesky -car -gar -zar verbs? And all those verbs that add a y in the middle when there is two vowels? Those are orthographic changes, or a change in spelling to maintain consistency between the spoken form and the written form. Luckily, you will find that many of these verbs will look or sound wrong if you don't change them. This will come after lots of practice. :)
These changes happen in all forms, not just the yo form. :) Apply the orthographic change and then add on the appropriate ending.
-car, -gar, and -zar
-car: the c becomes a quex. buscar - busque
-gar: the g becomes a gu
ex. pagar - pague
-zar: the z becomes a c
ex. empezar - empece
Remember: car gar zar goes to que gue ce.
seemingly random y
Verbs that end in uir, like huir replace add a y before attaching the endingex. huir - huya
the g verbs
-ger or - gir verbs replace the g with a j (What?)ex. escoger - escoja
elegir - elija
-guir changes the gu to just a g
ex. seguir - siga
Oh my gosh that's a lot to remember! Good thing I've provided a link to another studyspanish quiz.
http://www.studyspanish.com/practice/subj3.htm
Wait... Those weren't the irregulars?
I am so sorry to have to do this to you. There are a few verbs that just really hate people who want to learn Spanish. They just want to be really irregular. The bad part is, you have to just memorize them. The good part is, I've provided a link to some flashcards on quizlet to help you practice!http://quizlet.com/4385145/irregular-subjunctive-flash-cards/
Dar
Last Few Tips.
Remember, the subjunctive is used to indicate doubt, ignorance, desire, actions not yet completed, and is used with impersonal expressions.Buena Suerte :)
-Verde